Applied Dreamatorium Sciences
by CreamLemon
Summary: A re-write of Virtual Systems Anaysis, Annie insists on a game *she* wants to play. You know, one with romance and kissing. So Abed suggests a Tennant-esque episode of Inspector Spacetime. Anne/Abed, Inspector Spacetime/OC sort of.


A/N:

Decided to re-write Virtual Systems Anaysis to be even more shippy than it already is. Yay! It was a lot of fun to write some Inspector Spacetime too.

I might continue this—i'm not sure yet. If I do it'll definitely move into the M category, 'cause I like my fanfics as smutty as humanly possible. Suggestions for other thing for them to play would be welcomed. Mal/Inara maybe? That would be hot.

/

Annie felt slightly awkward as she followed Abed to the blanket fort. He donned his Inspector Spacetime bathrobe and hat and she started to reach for Troy's reggie costume. "No, you can't be Reggie," Abed said.

"Because I'm a girl?"

"Because that's Troy's part and you wont do it right." She let out a squeak of indignation. "You can be..." he pondered. "Geneva, from season five, I guess."

"You sound so thrilled," she said, even though she knew better than to use sarcasm.

"I'm not. It wasn't a very good season." Case in point. "Lets find you something to wear." He took off to her room, opening her dresser without asking. "Hey!" she cried as he began to poke through her pajama drawer. Her eyes grew wide as his long, delicate fingers slid across the few nice, silky-sexy items Annie owned. What if she had been _inside_ one of those nightgowns? What a thought.

He pushed the pile of silk aside and yanked at a wad of yellow cotton, pulling out a grandma-esque nightgown and handing it to her. "Here, put this on." She sighed, and pulled it on over her clothes. he continued to poke around until he found a scarf . "C'mere." She allowed him to put it around her neck, but then she started to cross it over her chest-

"Abed," she hissed, thinking about pulling away, but then one of his hands grazed the top of her breast. An unexpected shock ran through her body, and she remembered when he played Han Solo. God, she had dreams about Han Solo, except instead of Harrison Ford, he was Abed. Why couldn't they play something...fun...like that?

"Sorry," he said, and spun her around to tie the scarf behind her. She was very aware of his hands brushing occasionally across her back. "Almost done."

He kept craft supplies—kid things like construction paper and crayons and glitter—in a drawer in the kitchen. Soon she was donning a paper tiara too. "Okay. Now you're good."

She felt ridiculous as she followed him into the Dreamatorium. If Jeff saw her dressed like this he would laugh so hard. Definitely not grown up. But she was doing it for Abed. She loved Abed—who didn't? And it was only for a few hours.

As it turned out, a few hours was a really long time. Try as she might, Annie could not grasp the concept of Geneva, and apparently her accent stank. "This isn't working," he said, pushing the fake dial on the fake cardboard control panel of the Dreamatorium. "You just don't get it."

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "Can't we play something I'm good at...didn't Inspector Spacetime ever, you know, fall in love?" She looked at him with her patented doe eyes. They worked so well on Jeff...but on Abed they were useless.

Instead he rambled on about Inspector Spacetime. "Sort of. The show went on hiatus from 1996 to 2005. In the early episodes he was played by kind of goofy, fun actors, but things got serious on the reboot, and they started going with better looking actors. He has love interests now, but it also gets kinda dark."

"And you don't like those episodes?"

"I do," Abed said. "But as I am kind of goofy with no chance of an active or healthy love-life, I choose the earlier Professors when I'm in the Dreamatorium.. I like to be Four best."

"Oh, Abed!" He was so honest and straight-forward over what was clearly a painful issue, Annie couldn't help but hug him. "You are not goofy—last year, at paintball, you were-"

"That wasn't me. I was Han Solo. I can play the roles I see on TV and in movies, and women like that, or at least _you_ do, but its never me. Its easier, sometimes, to play a character than to be myself."

Inside she was so sad, but if he wasn't going to get gooey, neither was she. Annie did kept her arms around his narrow shoulders, hoping it was comfort enough. "Alright then. Who's the constable in the reboot?"

"Violet. She's pretty and young and wears short skirts."

Annie pulled away. "I can _so_ do that," she said, and started yanking at the nightgown and pulling it off. (Abed said it was a beautiful sparkling golden gown, but she couldn't completely buy that...) The skirt she was wearing was already short, but she went ahead and rolled the waistband a few times. "How's this," she said with a sly smile, knowing that she was barely covered. Bending over was definitely out of the question.

"Violet was blond, but I guess you'll do."

"Great," she said, not letting him annoy her with the tiny details. This was the Dreamatorium for crying out loud. They could be whatever they wanted. "Come here, Inspector."

Abed hesitated. "This is just in the Dreamatorium. You know that, right? It's not real."

"I know that," Annie insisted. "Now tell me about the Inspector and Violet."

"At the end of series two they're fighting the Blorgons. And they're losing."

"So what happens?"

"The only way to defeat the Blorgons and save the universe is to open up a temporal hole in space, which would swallow up the Blorgons, but it would also take everything else in the immediate vicinity with it. Violet sacrifices herself to open the hole in space, allowing Inspector Spacetime to escape and continue saving innocents from evil."

"That's really sad."

"I know. Render: London. Blorgon attack. Big Ben."

"Big Ben?"

"The clock face is very romantic. Violet." He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to him. The motion was so abrupt she fell forward and crashed against him, but Abed was prepared for this and quickly maneuvered her so he was cradling her in his arms. He looked into her eyes, his expression softer than normal. "I can't let you open that portal."

"In-inspector," Annie stuttered, trying to find her bearings. "I _have_ to. The universe needs you too much, and I'm just a girl in a short skirt..."

"Violet would never say that."

"Well, next time I'll study first. Um, I love you Inspector."

"I know." He reached up and stroked her cheek. A flare of heat burst up inside of Annie and she stared at him, wide-eyed. "If only..."

"If only what?"

"We come from two different worlds, Violet. You're human and I'm...not."

Annie lifted her head. "Oh, Abed, don't be ridiculous. Is that what you think?"

"Who's Abed? I am Inspector Spacetime, protector of innocent unremarkables. But you, Violet, are very remarkable."

"Not that innocent either," Annie hinted, looking for Han in Abed's face. His neurosis could wait for another time. "Well, I'm going to my doom...what are you going to do about it?"

Abed leaned down close to her. He smelled like soap, and when he pressed his cheek to hers, his skin felt like satin. "I'll never forget you, Violet," he whispered. Annie raised a hand to stroke through his hair, so soft and silky. Oh, he was such a pleasure to touch. She never wanted to stop.

When he kissed her it was different from when he played Han. He was soft, even more gentle than Vahn had been, and he was the king of gentle. The kiss was chaste, but long, and even without the passion of the Han kiss, it made her swoon just a little.

When they separated Abed, that is the Inspector, gave her a small smile. "Here is the quantum spanner. Go, save the world. I will return to the Dimensionizer, and travel the stars..._alone_." He handed her a screwdriver and took a few steps before pretending to open the door of the Dimensionizer and fly away.

Annie, faced with imminent doom, raised the screwdriver—the quantum spanner—like a sword. "For Earth! For the universe! And especially for you, Inspector Spacetime!" And she closed her eyes, imagining the black hole opening up above her head...

She mimed getting sucked into the black hole to the best of her ability, floundering around the room, and finally fell to the floor, eyes closed. Her skirt rode up, and she knew Abed was getting a full view of her underwear. She was glad it was lacy that day. "Well?" she asked, keeping her eyes closed.

Abed didn't answer at first. "Good job," he said finally, and Annie sat up and opened her eyes. He was looking down at her. He had a small smile on his face, which was almost unheard of. Normally she only saw him smile like that when he was watching a movie that he deemed both awful and wonderful at the same time. Never when he was looking at a person. It was a small victory, but it was a start.

"Really?" She held out her hand and he pulled her to her feet. This time she resisted stumbling, though she wanted to, right into his arms.

"I don't normally play like that, but its something I could do again."

"Really." This time the word wasn't a question. Annie allowed a grin. "Well, we'll have to play again sometime soon. Maybe not Inspector Spacetime though...maybe..." She quickly searched through her brain for something, anything, that would appeal to his sci-fi tendencies and her need for sexy leading men. "Something with Vin Diesel?" she asked, trying not to smile at the very idea.

"Sounds promising," he said, and she wished, just a little, that he would give her a non-verbal cue. A sly smile, a raise of an eyebrow. Anything to hint that he enjoyed kissing her, and that he might want to do it again. She knew it was too much to ask for, so she didn't. Instead they left the Dreamatorium together. "I'm hungry."

"Me too," she said, knowing he was Abed again, and Abed wanted nothing to do with her. This hurt, but the realization that it hurt was a surprising one.

"Buttered noodles?"

"Sure."

Annie followed him into the kitchen, still thinking about their kiss. The Inspector and Violet's kiss. God this was stupid. And yet if she could get away with it...was she using Abed? Was her pathological need to be loved the only thing driving this?

It was Abed. He didn't love her, she knew that. He didn't love anybody. She couldn't hurt him. He had made it quite clear that none of it was real. It would be okay.


End file.
